An automotive front carrier is a support structure mounted at the front of an automobile and is used to support components at the front of the automobile. For example components the front carrier may support are: the radiator, the head lamps, bumper beams, latch braces for the hood, hood prop rods, hood bumpers, crash sensors, washer bottles, the grill, air guides, air temperature sensors, pedestrian protection, air conditioning condensers, an charged air cooler, and energy absorbers.
Automotive front carriers can be constructed from metal, however this leads to additional weight and reduces the fuel economy of the automobile. In injection molding has been used to manufacture front end carriers, however large injection molding machines (approx. 2700 tons) are necessary and expensive “end of arm” tooling is necessary for the loading and unloading of the part into the injection molding machine.